Summary of Joseph Article

                Food explains much of the cultural and social values of any civilization or lifestyle as food is the language that holds nostalgia and meaning for certain cultures. Because of this idea, food is often used to assist in explaining the many concepts of beliefs and social expectations. As of lately though, the original idea of food as a clue should be changed to an idea that food is the concepts scholars study about. In Judaism, research on past customs often use food as a clue into the social structure of past Jewish society. The different types of research on past Jewish society often do not center as food as the study as food is not typically something people study to understand their religious past. Typically, food explains in part food laws, economy, and gender roles, yet it only explains it in term of the relationship the food has to the subject. Women often were the main creators of Jewish food, yet in early research, most studies focused on the patriarchal society instead of possibly the role women had in the evolution of Jewish food. Researchers also use food to examine the diversity of Jewish communities as they assimilate to their local regions. Food for Jewish people represents more than just sustenance, but a biography on the culture of their religion and people.